June 24-29
Hi All,
Yep….I did it….fell down some stairs and landed hard on my right leg and buckled the knee….oweee!!!! Instant pain…..ugh!!! The right knee had been sore since we did the hike at Baranof Warm Springs, over a week ago….and we had been walking 5-6 miles/day for the past 3 days in Sitka so the knee was already sore. I was already wearing one of those Ace compression support bandages. Made it through the night with ice and Advil, but could not put any weight on it the next day. Got a ride in a cart to the parking lot from Mark where we took a taxi to the hospital ER. Good news, after 6 hours being seen by a general PA and an orthopedic TA and some X-rays read offsite…..nothing torn or broken just some irritation in the cartilage/bursa sac/memescus below the knee cap….got a cortisone shot and as I’m writing this blog 2 days later I’m about 70% recovered…yea!!! Oh, they also said I’ve put my knee to good use over the years for my age:))))….some arthritis and various bone spurs but overall in good shape!!!
So…..we delayed our departure from Saturday (today) to Sunday to give me a bt more R&R!!!!
OBTW….we did get a slip at the marina….all the way at the end so a healthy hike just to get out of the marina:)))
Unfortunately we really did not get to do that much in Sitka….we did most of our work/errands up front and were going to play the days I got hurt…ugh! There are 3 other Selene’s here at Eliason Harbor….Koinonia, Spirit and Jean Marie as well as our Kiwi friends on sv Sagata….so lot’s of jocularity….dinners out, dinners on Koinonia, Pioneer Bar, a great date night for John and Kathy at Ludwig’s (it was closed over the winter….hard to get reservations but we lucked out as a couple was leaving in their upstairs tappas/wine room…..excellent bottle of Duckhorn merlot, Caesar salad and calamari…yummers!!! We met Patrick on Spirit….this is like his 13th season up here so a wealth of information.
We also reprovissioned on groceries as well as many cases of white and red wine, fishing gear, propane, et al, Kathy did multiple loads of laundry and I got Mystic and Moon-lite a good washing all before the injury….yep, we were busy!!!
Boat Stuff:
Yamaha outboard: Well, we hope it has been fixed. The only Yamaha service shop in town, Gary’s Outboard, was very busy with work. I had called a week before arriving to arrange a service….I was going to take the dinghy to a boat launch and he was going to trailer it from there. But, both his wife and mechanic had injuries so no trailer available. Kathy and I got the outboard off the dinghy and then used our mast and boom winches to lower the motor onto a dock cart. Then Mark helped me lift it onto Russ’ truck (Russ was in Sitka getting his boat ready for the Commercial July 1 King Salmon opening). It turned out to be a dirty lower carburetor and the outboard was running good late Friday afternoon. So Hop-a-long (what Mark called me) or Chester (what Kathy called me) strapped on my knee brace that the hospital had given me to keep the knee immobile for a few days and did the dirty and went and got the outboard….yep,, livin the dream:))) But, in the process of getting the carburetors out they broke the 2 adjustment screws as they said both were frozen…..ugh…..looks like we will have to replace the carburetors now in Seattle….ugh!!!
The Plan: Hopefully we will leave Sitka on Sunday, the 30th. We will go on the west side of Baranof Island to 3-5 anchorages and then cross Chatham Strait at the southern end of Baranof island and cross over to Prince of Wales for a week or so. We hope to be in Craig on July 15 and then to Prince Rupert and British Columbia around July 25th. It looks like we it will all work out to meet up with Adam and Cindi on sv Bravo to cruise with them for a week or so…..more good times coming!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Sitka Alaska
PS: Finally got some pictures posted albeit the internet still sucks in Sitka especially when the cruise ships are here during the day. Finally went to the library for decent internet:
Large Gallery from Petersburg to Auke Bay with Craig and Jeanette…..232 pictures, lots of whales pictures:))))
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Petersburg-to-Auke-Bay-with-Craig-and-Jeanette-May-2019
Four pretty good videos posted:
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